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Brands adopt various marketing strategies to boost their product sales. From the past to now, various cereal brands have printed different mascots on their cereal boxes to grab customers’ attention at first glance. Some of the characters proved very beneficial for marketing and product presentation, while others failed in the past. And some of them took a lot of time to gain popularity in the competitive market. Among all these characters, Dig ‘Em Frog is also one who gained popularity after a long time and with more struggle.
He has been printing on the Honey Smacks cereals box for almost fifty years. His story is quite dramatic, and this is the frog on the cereal box who is in this position after any ups and downs. In this well-researched blog, I will guide you in detail on why there is a frog on a cereal box.
Chaos Before the Frog On Cereal Boxes
In the 1950s, Kellogg’s first introduced Sugar Smack cereal with the printing of Cliffy the Clown in 1953. At that time, they failed miserably to impress kids. After that, they brought the box to the market with Sappy the Seal, but even at that time, they could not gain any significant attention. During that period, the Western industry was full of cartoons, so they entered the market with Quick Draw McGraw, but for the third time, they left no special impression on customers. In the 1960s, the brand chose a mascot, which proved remarkably successful and generated more sales.
The Entry of The Frog
In 1972, Kellogg’s changed the name of their Sugar Smack cereal to Honey Smacks and also hired the Leo Burnett advertising agency to start their business from scratch. At that time, art director James Mackey sketched something unexpected for them. A small green frog with a wide grin, a bright red sweater, and an organic baseball cap. Along with it, he wrote the marketing tagline, “You’ll dig ‘Em!” This act significantly improved their cereal marketing, and they were highly successful in grabbing kids’ attention. In this way, by presenting their cereal in a fun and engaging way, they succeeded in entertaining more and more kids.
Reasons Behind the Frog On A Cereal Box
There are many brand marketing reasons behind manufacturing a cereal with frog on box. Cereal brands have also made changes with every new marketing trend to increase their sales; sometimes they achieved success, and sometimes they succeeded in the best possible way to attract their customers. In this section, I will guide you in detail about the various reasons.
Unique Brand Identity
A unique mascot’s smiling image, wearing a baseball cap along with a yellow and light green shirt with an energetic visual appeal, shows the brand’s unique identity. In this way, Kellogg’s generated a lot of sales to inform customers about its unique presentation. Before this, the brand also made mistakes when they chose the image of a bear instead of Dig’em on the custom cereal boxes. By printing this bear, named Wally, on their boxes, they could not achieve success in brand advertising.
Pop Culture Icon
In 1970, this was one of the most used cartoon characters in the food industry, especially on food boxes and cereal packaging, when the industry was filled with cartoons. It was then used in various merchandising and branding. At that time, the mascot was seen in commercials, comic books, and even on vintage promotional glassware.
Attract Children
The main purpose of the brand behind printing the cereal boxes with a frog was to attract more and more children toward their breakfast snacks. In the beginning, they were successful to some extent in the past, but then they failed when they chose Wally graphics. But later on, and until now, the frog on the cereal box has gained a lot of popularity among kids.
Depict the Quality
The energetic image of this character also shows the quality of the cereal brand, and it has become a part of breakfast for the majority of the population in the USA. It also causes nostalgic feelings among youngsters with various wheat-flavored cereals.
Fun-Oriented Appeal
Their fun-oriented appeal attracts customers from afar. And this Honey Smacks frog provides a more prominent look to the cereals on the shelves compared to other snacks.
Why Dig’em Still Matters
Behind this frog lies a 50-year-old story filled with emotions, memories, ups, and downs. Therefore, frogs on cereal boxes are more than just characters. The Dig’em frog on cereal boxes holds a deep meaning beyond just marketing. With its help, a brand has maintained strong bonds with its potential customers. This is why market trends changed, flavors changed, and various competitors came and went, but the cereal with the frog on the box still stands strong today.
Conclusion
Today, Dig’em sits on Honey Smacks boxes as both a mascot and a symbol of brand resilience.
He started as a fun idea from a Chicago ad agency. He became a cultural touchpoint for multiple generations and survived being fired, coming back stronger. Not many characters can claim that kind of story.
So the next time you walk past the cereal aisle and spot that grinning green face, remember what it took to stay there. Dig’em earned his spot the hard way. And brands are not willing to remove him from the box again. If you want to get your cereal boxes with a frog, you can get our expert packaging solutions at Silver Edge Packaging.
